Car-door.



P. A. MUGOMBER.

UAR DOGR.

ArrLxoATIoN FILED MAY a, 1909.

954,326. Patented Apr.5, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

P. A. MUGOMBER.

GAR DOOR.

APPLIUATXON FILED MM5, 1909.

Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

35 detail.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

raamt AUSTIN moonrise, or MaBsHALLToWN, Iowa, assIGNorr or one-HALF Tor. H. eirroan, or MARSHALLTQWN, IOWA.

CAR-D003.

ySpecification o! Lettera Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

Application Med Hay 5, 1909. Seria! No. 4.93.1394` To all whom' it mayconcern:

Beit known that I, FRANK AUSTIN Mc- CoMnER, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Marshalltown, in the county of Marshall and State ofIowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Doors, of whichthe following is a specification. 2,.

My invention has to do with freight cai1 doors of the sliding type; andit contemplates the revision of a simple and durable oor, constructedwith a view ofv sectional being opened with the expenditure of littleeil'ort, and of being tightly 4closed at all points about a door openingin order to eil'ectually exclude the weather and prevent the escape ofthe contents of the car when said contents are in bulk.

Other objects and advanta eous characteristics of my invention will efully understood from the following description and claims when the sameare read in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forminpart ofthis specification', in which:

1gure 1 is a sideelevation of'a portion of a ear equipped with my imrovements Y 39 Vdoor sections 1n their open positions. Fig. 4

is a detail horizontal section showing the cooperation of the upper doorsection and 'the upright keeper. 1g. 5 is a fragmentary horizontalsection hereinafter referred to in Similar letters designatecorresponding arts in all of the views of the drawings, re- `errng towhich: A is 'the side wall of a freight car in which 40 is an o ening Bof the conventional or any other s a e and size compatible with thepurpose o my invention.

- C is the fixed horizontal track for the upper door section and D isthe said upper 46 door section as a whole. The track C extends above theopening B and an `adequate distanceto the left of thesame, and is of theoon z'. e.,` `as an' upper flan'geaf arranged against 50 and 'lllgedlyconnected-to the outer-side of the rationl illustrated Vin cross-sectionof the portion b and arranged alongside the plane of the flange a, so asto lie adjacent the side of the car and enable the said side to assistin guiding the upper door section D. Arranged adjacent the right handend of the track C is an upright keeper E which is de Signed'to receivethe right hand end of the door section D and crowd the same inwardl witha view of contributing to the thorougii closing of the door opening atthe upper right hand portion thereof. The said upright keeper E is ofabout the same height as the door section D, and comprises an inner wearportion d arranged flat against the side of the'ear, and an outerportion e flared from the ortion d as illustrated. From this it will ereadil ,understood that when the extended right and end portion f of thedoor section D enters between the port-ions al and e of the keeper E,the joint between the door section and the keeper E will be broken, andthe flared outer portion e of the keeper will assure the keeperreceiving in proper manner the extension f, and will also tend to causethe end portion of the door section to ear tight against the plate orportion d flat against the side of the car.

In addition -to the right hand end extension f the u'pper door section Dis provided with an outwardly and downwardly extending flange g and withtwo or more wheels h thereon, and is also provided adjacent its lower ede with a skirt flange z' in which is a verticay disposed aperture j. Theflange g at the to of section D is engaged with the Atrack in the mannershown, s as to enable the wheels h to bear ,and travel freel on thebottom wall of the track portion From this it follows that the up erdoor section D ma be opened toward t e left with the expen iture of verylittle effort; the said door section when opened to the full extentbeing designed to bring up a ainst an abutment F fixed to the side of te car, this in order to revent accidental disengagement of the sai doorsection from the parts that co'perate therewith'.

At the. left hand side of the door opening B is arranged a guard G,which has for its otlice to prevent flapping or casual movement of thelower portion of the door section D away from and toward the aide of theca'r. The said guard G comprisesa bar separated by a suitableintervening sphce `Fig. 1, the section from the side of the car body,and brackets l carrying the said bar lc and fixedly connected to thesaid side of the bod It will be readily understood from this t at theuard G is idle when the door section D is c osed, and only cooperateswith the said door section l) when the latter is moved from its closedposition.

Fixed to the outer side of the upper door section l) and extendingdownwardly through the aperture j in the skirt liange z' of said sectionD is a. bar H, The Said bar H is provided adjacent the lower portion ofthe door opening ofthe car with a hinged section I disposed and movabletoward and from Vthe outer side of lthe lower door section J, whichlatter is preferably, though not necessarily, about twice as high as theupper section D. The hinged section I is yprovided with an aperture m,an apertured pin n, and a lower reduced end p. The aperture m isdesigned, when theA section I is in alinement with the bar H, to receivean apertnred pin m2 on the section J, and then a seal'may be passedthrough the apertures of the pins m2 and n and suitably secured. At thesame time the lower end of the section I may be engaged by a swin inkeeper K, mounted on the door section an adapted to prevent movementofthe section I, bar H and door section D toward the left. When,however, the keeper K is swun out of enga ement with the section I theseal is roken, the said sectionI may be swung outwardly and then may beused as a convenient handle to move the u er door section D toward theleft. It wil, also be noted that the section I is adapted to be used toadvantage as a handle in moving'the up er door section D to its closedposition, and that the said section I may be conven iently reached by atrainman standing u on the ground. Then when both door se'ctions D and Jare relativl arran ed as shown in I may swun into alinement with the barH, and enga with the keeper K, and then the car may sealed in the mannerbefore described. 4

The lower door section J when clo'sed rests in a lower track L andbetween the Han e s of, said track and the lower portion of t e upperdoor section D; the u er edge kof the said section J being receivetwteen the skirt Bange i and the ma'or portion of the section D,whereby, as wi l be manifest a tight joint is effected 4between thecldsd section-. e., a joint that. will'shed rain and revent the contentsof the car being afected by the weather, and'will also revent the escapeofany portionof the cm nts of the car. The section J is provided withwheels t to y der. easy its movement, on track L, and, as will bereadily Seen by reference to Fig. 1, the said track L extends anadequate distance to the right ofthe door door sections D and opening B,and at the proper point on the sideof the car body an abutment M isprovided for lirhitin the opening movement of the d oor section It willbe noted here that the interlocking of the adjacent ortions of the doorsections D and J when c osed, serves to hold the said adjacent portionstogether; also, that during the initia portion of the movement of thesection J toward the right, the upper portion of the said section willbe guided and held against lateral deflection by'lthe lower portion ofthe section D, and after said initial movement, the up er edge of thesection J 'will move in a tixe retainer N, which extends a suitabledistance toward the right from the door opening B, and serves to preventcasual oiitward movement of the sec tion J when the latter is in itsopen position. At P and R, the lower door sect-ion J is provided' withlugs' of taper form, which serve, incidental to the com letion of theopening movement of the said section J, to coperate with complementarytapered lu P2 and R2 on the track L and retainer respectivetly, tobringabout pressing of the section J rmly and tightly against the side of thecar with a view of contributing to the thorough closing of thedooropening B;

In addition to the appurtenances hereinbefore mentioned, the lower doorsection J is lprovided with a suitable handle S, and a ook T; the latterbeing adapted when both J are closed, to receive to brace and strengthenthe connection between the said sections. The upper door section D isprevented b the upright Vkee r E from-moving towa the right beyon' itsclosed position.j and the lower door section J is revented, by theclosed left hand end of t e track L, from moving toward the left beyndits closed position. Consequently when the doors or door sections areconnected to ether in the manner shown rin Fig. 1, there 1s noliabilityr of either tending to move accidentally from the bar H andserve its closed osition. When desired the catch or kee `er may be usedonly when no seal4l 1s use the lower end of the section I being hooked,as indicated by w, to prevent casua downward movement -of the said atchor keeper. i

In the practical use of my im rovenlents, the section. J 'alone ma beuse as a gram section D ma door in which event t e tab sui ly securedbetweenj the top tra and the sideof the car, and also between-the guardG and the side of the car, and suitable cans 'that I have deemed itnnnecessary to illustrate may be employed for detachably fastening theitsclos'ed position. 1

I prefer in practice to make all of the parts of'my improvements o!metal, but it vwill berredny appreciated am mwah! said section J in.

los

iso i standing the sections I) and J are of metal, g each of the saineis susceptible of being very easily moved in opposite directions.

I have entered into a detailed description of the construction andrelative arrangement of the parts comprised in the present and preferredembodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, and exactunderstanding of the said embodiment, but it is obvious that in thefuture practice of the invention changes in the orrn, construction andrelative arran ement of parts may be made provided sai changes do notinvolve departure from the scope of in invention as defined in theclaims appende Having described my invention, what I claini and desireto secure by Letters-Patent,

1. In a car door, the combination of a lower track extending below andbeyond one side ot'ythe door opening in a car body and fixed to saidbody, an upper track also fixed to the car body and extending above thedoor opening and beyond the opposite side thereof, a door retainer fixedto the car body aiid ai'ranged above the extended portion of the lowertrack, a guard fixed to the car b ody and arranged below the extendedportion of the upper track, a lower door section niovable on the lowertrack and between the extended portion of the saine and the retainer, anupper doorsection movable on the upper track and between the extendedportion of the saine and the guard, and means on one of the doorsections, adjacent the other door section, receiving the edge portion ofsuch other section.

2. In a car door, the combination of a lower track extending below andbeyond one side of the door opening in a car body and fixed to saidbody, an upper track also fixed to the car body and extending above thedoor o coing and beyond the opposite side thereo a door retainer fixedto the car body and arranged above the extended portion of the lowertrack, a guard fixed vto the car body and arranged below the extendedportion of the upper track, a lower door section mor-able on the lowertrack and betwcenthe y extended portion of the same and the 1etainer. anupper door section movable on the upper track and between `the extendedportion of the saine and the guard, and having a portion adapted to rest:it'the inner side of the lower section and another portion adapted torest at the outer side ofthe lower' section and also having an aperturein the otter portion, a ,bar fixed to the upper tion and extendingdownwardly through the said aperture, and means detachablv connectingthe :aid bar to the lower section.

3. In a rar door, the combination of a lower uml* x xdinfr below andbeyond one side if the loor opening in a car body and fixed tf. saidbody an upper track also fixcl to the car body and extending above thedoor opening and beyond the opposite side thereof, a door retainer fixedto the car body and arranged above the extended portion of the lowertrack, a guard fixed to the car body and arranged below the extendedportion of the upper track, a lower door section movable on the lowertrack and between the extended portion ot' the saine and the retainer,an upper door section movable on the upper track and between theextended portion of the same and the guard, and having a portion adaptedto rest at the inner side of the lower section and another portionadapted to rest at the outer side of the lower section and also havingan aperture in the latter portion, a bar fixed to the upper section andextending downwardly through the said aperture, a section. hinged tosaid bar in position to swing toward and from the lower door section andadapted to serve as a handie, and means for detachably securing the saidhandle section to the lower door section and for preventing movement ofthe said handle section with the bar and upper door section und withrespect to the lower door section.

4. In a car door, thev combination of a lower track extending below andbeyond one side of thc door opening in a car body and fixed to saidbody, an upper track also fixed to the cai' body and extending above thedoor opening and beyond' the opposite side thereof, a door retainerfixed to the car body and arranged above the extended portion of thelower track, a guard fixed to the car body and arranged below theextended por- Vtion of the upper track, an upright keeper arranged atthe opposite side o the door opening, with reference to the guard, andhaving an inner wear plate or portion and an outer portion fixed to andHaired from the wear plaie or inner portion, a lower door sectionmovable on the lower track and between the extended portion of the sameand the retainer, an upper door section movable on the upper track andbetween the extended portion ot thc samil and the guard. and litiving:In extended end portion adapted to enter and be held in the uprightkeeper, means on the lower door section, and means on the extendedportion of the lower track and the retainer for crowding the lower doorsection in its closed position against the car body.

5. The combination in a car door, of a lower, slidable door section, anupper, slidable door section having an inner portion adapted to rest atthe inner side of the lower section, and also .having a portion adaptedto rest at the outer side of the lower section and provided with avertically disposed ap-Y adapted to engage said bar, a section hinged tothe bar at the lower end thereof and arranged to be swung toward andfrom the lower section, and means:V detachably connecting the saidsection with the lower door section.

G. The combination in a car door, of a lower sliduble door section, anup er slidoble door section movable indepen ently of the lower sectionand having an inner `orton adapted to rest at the inner side o the lowersection and also having a portion adapted to rest at the outer side ofthe lower sectmn and provided with an aperture, and a barxed to theupper section and extend- 15 in downwardly throu l1 said egel-ture.

n testimony whereo I have ereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

F. E. NORTHUP, H. C. THEDE.

